We have the most wind!

If you live in Wellington you have to love wind if you complain about the wind or the weather you're just not doing it right. What I mean by this, is you can use the wind to your advantage and if it's too wet or too cold you've obviously choosen the wrong mix of clothing for that block of a few hours...............because the weather changes so quickly here.

Now about this wind, Nathan Faavae from Nelson, commented to me recently you are lucky to have the wind to produce the wind swells................yes we are............... but it's not as simple as that.

Our wind, though it's awesome it does come with more hazards than in most areas. Because the City is so compact we have a good number of high rise buildings, valleys and cuttings specially designed for the wind to funnel through just like it does with the Cook Strait.

Our 40 kmh wind like the one I was paddling in today, sometimes has a bonus or a hinderance (which ever way you look at it) of wind gusts usually a third the speed greater, today that meant 60 kmh gusts.
Now you think that is fine and dandy.................. that's where the funnel effect comes into play the gusts come at you in sets just like the Ocean waves and they come at you "at bulk warp speed" and thats when your perfect paddling technique just flies out the window and it's a battle of survival sometimes.

If it's blowing like the proverbial 40 bastards there's also a good chance that your 12.5kg ski will blow off the beach in the blink of an eye also..................some days heavy is good in Wellington.

Yes the wind can be horrendous sometimes.............. but with the geography we are also blessed with bays and hillsides which we can use to our adavantage.................even on the meanest of days just put your boat or board on the van and drive 30 mins to either Petone or even the Greater Porirua Area there's water and shelter everywhere.

In Wellington City you don't actually have to run for the outer suburbs..................with a good mix of surf skis you've got it covered.
In Wellington our best seller is the Think Evo II which is what I have and just for kicks I have a Think Uno Max which is the ultimate speed machine (for me) for lighter days.

Click on any of the photos to enlarge